Live: No Age & Liars @ The El Rey - 2/22/08

So, the 22nd day of February finally arrived, and with it came a show that I'd been looking forward to since December. Knowing how things tend to go in LA, I rolled in a bit after 9:30 hoping to settle in a few minutes before No Age took the stage. At first I thought I had missed them, but moments later the curtains spread and the duo appeared. The crowd tightened up a bit and the set began.

Now, I'd been listening to Weirdo Rippers for awhile, and actually missed out on seeing No Age a few months back, so I had very high expectations for their performance. Fortunately, they just killed track after track, running through all of the hits plus several songs from their forthcoming LP. Everything was spot-on, and Dean Spunt's one-two drum/vocal combo was golden. I was rocking out, the punk kids in the pit in front of me were off the hook [and by kids, I mean kids--earlier I had seen one of them text "can you pick me up around 11?" to his mom], and (as you can see above) Randy Randall's axe ended up in the crowd, clawed and pulled by a ton of people before being returned to him in a less-than-original state. Definitely superfun and not to be missed. Look for their full-length Nouns on Sub Pop in May.

Liars took the stage next and proceeded to entrance the crowd with a mix of meditative selections as well as their more direct tracks from Liars. Angus Andrew, despite a recent back injury, delivered a performance worthy of his role as frontman. Liars are the real deal, and Andrew & Co. made sure everyone in attendance knew it.

Pics of both bands by Sung at Losanjealous.

Recording Electronica: Autechre

I came across an interesting article from Sound On Sound detailing the recording process and methods of prolific English electronic duo Autechre. The interview is from '04, so some things have surely changed since then. It's a good read nonetheless. Enjoy!

Live: Super Furry Animals @ The Echoplex - 2/8/08

On Friday, the Lady Doc and I caught the Super Furry Animals at The Echoplex. Now, I've been to this venue before and have never had a problem getting in. This time was awful. Parking took forever, and then the line into the venue was dishearteningly long and slow. To make matters worse, everyone was forced to jump through the same hoops, regardless of if one had their tickets in hand or were picking them up from will call. Once we got past the ID check, I was so frustrated that I just waved our tickets in the air, bypassed the swarm of will call tediousness, and finally got us into the venue. I actually think the employees appreciated my act of frustration.

We caught the end of Holy Fuck, and it was probably a combination of my anger from the admissions process combined with our distance from the stage, but I found their performance totally uninspiring. That's probably my fault. But it didn't make matters any better.

Finally Holy Fuck ended. But then began the insanely long SFA set-up period. I know they have a lot of gear, and I know I'm not part of their crew, but I've seen them before and their set-up has always been really efficient. But this was torture. At least by this point we were just a few people back from the stage, so we'd have a good view.

SFA started. Unfortunately, it was nasty hot, smoky (even though The Echoplex is non-smoking), and late. And, for some reason, they didn't have their fun video experience. But what we saw was good, even if it was a carbon copy of past performances. We heard "Slow Life", "Rings Around the World", "The Gateway Song", "Runaway", "Golden Retriever", "Do or Die", "Neo Consumer", and "She's Got Spies". At this point, the Lady Doc was passing out on my shoulder and offered to sleep in the car (which I lovingly vetoed). So, we left. Thankfully they did not play "Run! Christian, Run!", one of SSM's live SFA favorites. Ah, the conflicted life of young professionals who insist on going to shows.

See a full set of pics at Losanjealous.

The House That Trance Built

DJ Paul Oakenfold's LA mansion is for sale. Anyone with a cool $10M can have it. Included are bleachers with a view of The Hollywood Bowl -- not a bad feature.

Super Furry Animals - Request Line Open!

This is probably a little late for tonight's show at The Echoplex, but if you're heading to any of SFA's upcoming shows, feel free to submit a request!

News: Hot Chip @ El Rey Postponed

The title says it all. Apparently one of the Chippers is ill. A make-up date is TBA. Boo! Let's hope this doesn't turn into a full-on cancellation. I bet they'll be back around Coachella time...